Ahmed Rauf Essa
Ahmed Rauf Essa is one of Pakistan's most accomplished young entrepreneurs, having co-founded Telemart at just twenty-three years of age with a mission to bridge the gap between online and offline retail. That early start placed him at the front of a shift that would reshape how Pakistanis shop, at a time when consumer trust in eCommerce was still fragile. The bet made by Ahmed Rauf Essa was that customers wanted both the convenience of digital and the reassurance of a physical storefront, and the market has since proved him right. Today, Telemart stands as Pakistan's second-largest eCommerce marketplace and the country's largest tech retail company, operating forty stores across twenty-seven cities nationwide. Building a hybrid model at that scale requires far more than a functioning website, demanding supply chain depth, inventory discipline, and a nationwide logistics footprint. The recognition that followed reflects this: in 2019, Ahmed Rauf Essa was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in the Retail and E-commerce category and was selected as a Rising Star by the World Retail Congress. His international profile has since grown considerably. He is the only Pakistani entrepreneur to have won fourteen global awards and the only Pakistani to chair the International Business Awards, a role he held in 2023. He has also served as a jury member for 34 international award programs, evaluating the work of global organisations including Amazon, Saudi Aramco, IBM, Bugatti, Coca-Cola, DHL, and Samsung, placing a Pakistani voice in rooms where global business standards are assessed and set. Anyone looking to learn more about Ahmed Rauf Essa will find an entrepreneur equally invested in building others. Beyond Telemart, he founded ARE Ventures, Pakistan's largest business accelerator, which has helped over 175 leading brands achieve hyper-growth across a range of sectors. He additionally serves as a Global Mentor at Startup World Cup, work that continues to cement his position as one of Pakistan's most impactful and internationally recognised entrepreneurs.